Natural hazards · Shipman

Shipman, VA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Shipman comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Shipman?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Shipman to be higher than in 64% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding76%Everything else24%

By hazard

What Shipman faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

76% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Shipman flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Shipman.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Shipman isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Nelson County.

Disasters that hit Shipman

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Shipman itself: aid to households, or repair grants to Shipman.

Brought FEMA money into ShipmanDeclared for Nelson County only

2003

Hurricane Isabel

1 household applied for aid $614 aid approved

Nelson County has had 24 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and winter storms.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Shipman is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Shipman’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Shipman. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.